Policing

Police Research Partnerships

Assistant Professor Of Social Welfare, University Of California At Berkeley

Key Findings

To combat police fear and suspicion of researchers, the Center for Policing Equity utilized former police officers to serve as outreach partners to police departments to share the benefits of participating in policing research.

To ethically proceed with data collection on police departments, it is important to have the buy-in and consent of labor unions and patrol forces as early and as transparently as possible.

To encourage police chiefs to participate in research, researchers must support police departments during negative media attention by providing them with recommendations and trainings to resolve issues as well as allowing police chiefs to give input on publishing negative results.

Another important issue to build police-researcher trust is sharing access to important data and findings quickly and as simply as possible so officers can analyze and implement necessary changes.

Description

In the article, “On Creating Ethical, Productive, And Durable Research Partnerships With Police Officers And Their Departments: A Case Study Of The National Justice Database,” Kerrison and her co-authors examine the role of research in policing and the importance of translating data into practice. The authors used the action research model, which uses active problem-solving to support police practitioners, to better provide real-world solutions to everyday policing problems. To conduct their study, the researchers analyzed data from the Center for Policing Equity (CPE)’s National Justice Database (NJD), which collects data on police-public contact and is recognized as one of the most comprehensive methods in the United States. The researchers also conducted interviews with members of the CPE, used data from other law enforcement agencies and community and referenced police officer testimonials to examine successful partnerships between researchers, officers, and community members. The researchers found that to combat police fear and suspicion of researchers, the CPE utilized former police officers to serve as outreach partners to police departments to share the benefits of participating in policing research. To ethically proceed with data collection on police departments, the researchers note the importance of having buy-in and consent from labor unions and patrol forces as early and as transparently as possible. Negative and high-profile media attention is another reason police chiefs may not wish to have their department participate in research. To encourage police chiefs to participate in research, the authors note the need for researchers to support police departments during negative media attention by providing them with recommendations and trainings to resolve issues as well as allowing police chiefs to give input on publishing negative results. Another important element to build police-researcher trust is sharing access to important data and findings quickly and as simply as possible so officers can analyze and implement necessary changes. In conclusion, the researchers note the need for continued work to foster relationships between researchers and police practitioners to better arm researchers with data and provide important findings that officers can utilize in real-world scenarios.